Oil-cooling radiator



Y 1937- R. B. BEISEL 2,079,275

OIL-COOLING RADIATOR FiledJuly 13, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. EEXH Bells-E] ATTORNEY May 4, 1937. RIB. BEISEL OIL-COOLING RADIATOR Filed July 13, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I JNVENTOR.

HEXB.BEJIQE] f z ATTORNEY Patented May 4, 1937 UNiTED STATES PATENT-OFFICE,

2,079,275 OIL-COOLING RADIATOR Rex B. Beisel, West Hartford, Conn, assignor to United Aircraft Corporation,- '.East Hartford, Conn, a corporation of Delaware Application July 13, 1935,'Serial No.31 ,253

12 'Claims.' (01.123-196) The accompanying drawings forming" a part of this application illustrate a suitable mechanical embodiment of what is now considered to be the preferred form of-the invention; the drawings, 15 however, are for the purpose of illustrationonly and are not to be taken as limiting the invention, the scope of which is to be measured entirely by the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevational 20 view of a fragmentary portion of an engine showing an oil cooling radiator constructed according to the idea of this invention mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view-on an en-' larged scale on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a a detail view of the door actuating means illustrated in Fig. 2 at the bottom of the radiator.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view on an enlarged.

scale of the oil cooling radiator showing a fragmentary portion of the engine upon which the radiator is mounted.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the numeral generally indicates an internal combustion engine having a crankcase I 2 upon which are mounted a plurality of radially disposed cyl- 35 inders, H, to form a radial engine of a type commonly employed as power plants for airplanes. The engine is provided with a cooling system comprising air cooling baflles as indicated at l8 arranged one between each two adjoining cylinders and shaped to conform closely to the exterior profile of the cylinders to provide a restricted air passage around the cylinder cooling surfaces, and head baflles I8 to provide a restricted passage around the cooling surfaces of the cylinder rock- 45 er arm boxes 20 and 22.-

preferably enclosed in a stream-lined cowling 24, and the baflies l6 and I8, together with the engine Ill, form a partition extending transversely across the interior of the cowling 24 to 50 provide within the cowl a high air pressure portion forward of the engine, and a low air pressure portion rearward of the engine so that the cooling air will flow past the cooling surfaces of the engine at a high velocity and thereby em- 55 ciently remove the-excess heat from the engine.

A further object The entire engine is' For a more completel description of this baffle-and cowl construction reference may be had tothe patentof A. L. MacClain, #2,03l, il; issued February 18, 1936 for Engine cooling system, filed 7 July 8, 1932. 5 Prior to this invention it has been the common practice to mount an oil cooling radiator somewhere upon the exterior of the airplane or the engine cowling, usually in the slip stream of the,

airplanepropeller, so that air currents induced by the'propeller or by the forward motion of the airplane when in flight. would cause'air to flow through the radiator to carry away excess heat of the engine lubricating oil. 'Such a mounting adds materially to the drag forces. on the airl5" plane and such additional drag-.forcesare'present whether the oil cooling radiator is beingused or not. This invention contemplates mounting the oil cooling radiator so that it is disposedentirely within the circumference.-. of 1 the engine. and therefore does not add appreciably'to the drag I forces tending'to retard the progress of the airplane upon which it is mounted. Such a mounting is desirably accomplished by .providing in one of the inter-cylinder ba'iiles'l fi, an opening of a 25 size and configuration to receivethe oil cooling radiator therein. Preferably, but not necessarily, the oil cooling radiator is mounted in one of the upper inter-cylinder baflies such as the baflle between the top cylinder and the adjacent left hand cylinder as viewed in Fig.' 1. As thespace be tween the radially disposed" cylinders of a radial type engine is restricted, particularly in width the oil cooling radiator forming apart of this invention has been'e'specially-designe'd to fit into 5 this restricted space and still provide ample cooling area for the transfer of heat from the 011' Passing therethrough, This is accomplished'by providing an elongated, narrow radiatorhaving a. depth sufflci'ent' to provide within the radiator 40 outlet tanklocated at the opposite end thereof.

In accordance with the above described objects,

I have provided air'oil cooling radiator having a relatively narrow elongated core 26, composed of a pluralityof thin-walled tubes placed sidev by side, spaced apart a sufficient distance for the oil to circulate between them and sealed together at their ends, thus forming what is commonly known as acartridge type radiator core. This, core has secured to one end thereof, an oil inlet tank 28, and to the opposite end thereof an oil outlet tank 30, and is mounted in a shell comprising side members 32 and 34, and end members 36 and 38, the side members being straight and conforming closely to the elongated sides of the core and the end members being rounded, or dome shaped, to 1 conform to the shape of the tanks 28 and so.

" For convenience in description, the portion of the radiator adjacent to the crankcase l2, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, will hereinafter be referred to as the bottom of the radiator, and the portion adjacent to the rocker arm boxes will'be referred to as the top of the radiator., The bottom end portion 36 is preferably made integral with, or rigidly secured to, the side members 32 and 34, and the top end portion 38 is made separate from the remainder of the shell and secured thereto by adjustable fastening elements as indicated at 40 and 4|. A piece of resilient material 42, is disposed between the bottom tank 30 and the bottom portion 36 of the shell and a similar piece of resilient material 44 is disposed between the top tank 28 and the top 38 of the shell. Adjustment ofthe adjustable fasteners or screws 40 and 4| to draw the top member 38 andthe respective side 'members 32 and 34' together will obviously place the pieces of resilient material 42 and 44 in compression and thereby securely retain the core 26 in the shell. The side members 32 and 34 are each provided with outwardly extending flanges as indicated at 43 and 48 in Fig. 2, and 46 in Fig.

4, the flange 46 preferably overlying the portion of the baiile l3 surrounding the opening provided therein to receive the radiator, to provide a substantially air-tight seal between the oil cooling radiator and the baflie. At their upper ends theseside members 32 and f 34' are provided with outwardly extending transverse flanges 50 through which the adjustable screws and 4| extend, the shell top 33 being provided with cooperating 40 flanges 52 overlying the flanges to provide a a At t the upper end thereof the shell is secured to the support for the upper'ends of the screws.

50- bracket 53 upon the opposite side of the shell from I the bracket 64, hasgoneend. thereof secured to .the engine by means of the nut 60 of the rocker arm bearing extending through the rocker arm,

box 22, and has its other end secured to the shell Bil-by means of the screw 4| which secures the shell top 34 to the shell side member 34. An additional bracket member 62 may be attached .to the radia -tor shell by suitable means such as one of the adjustable connection screwsas indicated at 4| .0 and secured to some part of one of the adjacent .engine cylinders as by a screw 63 tapped into the cylinder head. This bracket is desirably mounted in sucha manner as to add to thefone and aft stability of the radiator. At the bottom J5 thereof the shell is secured to the crankcase l2 of the engine by means of a pair of brackets 64 and 36, the bracket 64 being connected to the side member 34 by suitable means such as the rivet i8 and having. a pair of legs"!!! and 12 ex- 10 tending downwardly from the-side member for engagement with the crankcase l2 and, if desired for attachment to the cylinder hold down bolts 14 by means of which the cylinders are secured to the crankcase of'the engine. The. bracket 66 .15: is similarly secured to the side member 32 and of the engine.

As explained above, the baffle I6 is a part of an air pressure partition providing the interior of the cowling 24 with a high air pressure portion l5 and a low air pressure portion so that, the placing of the oil cooling radiatdr in the battle between the high and low pressure portions insures a flow of cooling air through the radiator whenever the cooling effect of the radiator is needed. As the 20 air passage openings through the radiator core are relatively restricted in area, the effect of the oil cooling radiator upon this air pressure differential is ordinarily not sufficiently serious to require that any special means he provided to 25 I overcome the same. If, however, the engine upon which the oil cooling radiator is mounted were operating under extremely adverse cooling condition, it might ,be desirable to protect the pressure differentialupon the opposite sides of the air pressure partition from the adverse effect pro- 7 duced by the oil cooling radiator. This object may be suitably attained by providing at the rear of the radiator a separate air passage opening through the cowling to the exterior thereof. 35 However, as the pressure differential and incident cooling of the engine may be controlled over a wide range by adjustment of the cowl trailing edge flaps 18 such a radiator vent would ordinarily be unnecessary. 40

There are certain times during the operation of the engine when the lubricating oil has a sumciently low temperature for best operating conditions and the cooling thereof provided by the racooling effect of the oil'radiator is not needed and therefore, in order to discontinue the cooling effect of the radiator when it is not necessary or desirable and at the same time to eliminate all of the drag forces incident to the use of the oil cool 'ing radiator, I have provided upon the front face of the radiator a pair of doors or shutters as indicated at 80 and 82 which, when closed as illustrated in Fig. 1, prevent the passage of air through 'the radiator core and thus render the baffle I6 substantially impervious to the passage of air therethrough. The doors 80 and 82 are hinged 'to the core 26 along theforward edgesthereof,

and extend in length for substantially the entire length of the core 26 and in width substantially to the center line of'the core. A rod 84 is secured to the door 80 by suitable means such as the rivets 36, parallel to and adjacent to its hinge and a similar rod 88 is secured to the door 82, both of these rods projecting below the lower ends of the doors as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. Upon the lower ends of the rods 84 and 83 are crank arms 80 and 92 respectively, secured to the rods against rotation relative thereto and, between the free ends of the crank arms 44 and'j2 there is dilposed a toggle linkage comprising a pair of link members 94 and 96 pivotally secured to the arms 90 and 92 respectively and pivotally secured together by a'pivotal connection 98 at their adjoining ends. These links 94 and 96 extend rearwardly from the arms 90 and 92 to the pivotal connection 98 so that a forward'movement of the connection 98 will move the forward ends of the arms 90 and 92 in-a direction to rotate the rods 84 and 88 in a direction to open the doors 80 and 82, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. A manually actuatable member in the form of a push and pull rod 100 is secured at one end to the pivotal connection 98 and slidably extends through a guide bracket 12 and rearwardly to a location within reach of the operator of the airplane so that axial movement of the rod 100 will serve to open or close the doors 80 and 82 of the radiator.

As the spaces between the tubular members of the radiator core are greatly restricted to force the oil within the radiator into thin streams for efiicient cooling, when the oil is cold and viscous ,it will not fiow readily through the radiator core.

In order to provide for a sufficient fiow of lubricating oil when the engine is first started and the oil is cold, and to avoid any dangerous pressures in the oil lines or cooling radiator, I have provided between the radiator inlet "14 and the ra diator outlet I06 a pressure relief valve generally indicated at 18. This relief valve comprises a bypass conduit Iii] leading from the radiator inlet to the radiator outlet and provided with a valve seat H2. A valve plunger H4 is carried by a casing H6 which forms an extension of the bypass, conduit Illl beyond the radiator outlet I06, and a coiled compression spring H8 by which the plunger is urged to closing position. The spring H8 has a resistance sufficient to maintain the valve closed and cause the oil to circulate through the cooling radiator when the oil is warm but will permit the valve to open to bypass the radiator when the oil is too viscous to flow through the confined spaces provided in the radiator core.

The radiator is preferably so positioned relative to the engine that its center line lies substantially in the plane of 'the center lines of the engine cylinders and so that it extends substantially the entire length of the space between the two adjoining cylinders between which it is mounted to thus effect the utmost use of the limited space available'without in any way infringing upon the space surrounding the engine which will be desired for otherpurpose or projecting beyond the engine disc.

While I have illustrated and described a special mechanical embodiment of the idea of my inven- -tion, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific construction so illustrated and described, but that such changes in the size, shape, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to as come within the scope of the sub-joined claims.

Having now' described my invention" so that others skilled in the art may clearly understand the same, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1.- In combination with an engine having a plurality of cylinders cooled by an air blast, and a series of battles for confining said air blast to the cooling surfaces of said engine, an oil cooling radiator positioned between and fixedly secured to two adjacent cylinders, the baflie between said cylinders surrounding said radiator and directing air therethrough.

2. In combination with an engine having aplurality of cylinders cooled by an air blast, and

a series of baffles for confining said air blast to the cooling surfaces of said engine, an oil cooling radiator in one of said baffles positioned between two adjacent cylinders, and means for regulating the fiow of air through said engine and said radiator.

3. In combination with an engine having a centrally disposed crankcase, a plurality of radially disposed cylinders around said crankcase, a cowl surrounding said engine, and an air pressure baflie between each two adjacent cylinders, an oil radiator in one of said air pressure baflies, means securing said baffles and said radiator to said cylinders, and means supporting said radiator on said crankcasef 4. In combination with an engine having a centrally disposed crankcase, a plurality of radially disposed cylinders around said crankcase, and an air pressure baflie between each two adiacent cylinders, an oil radiator for said engine having a drag reducing mounting in an opening in one of said bafiles, doors hinged to close said opening, and manually operable means for closing said doors when the cooling effect of said radiator is not needed to thereby entirely eliminate the drag of said radiator. 1v

5. In combination with an engine having a plurality of cylinders cooled by an air blast a cowl surrounding said engine and a bafile between each two adjacent cylinders to form with said cylinders an air pressure partition in said cowl having a high air pressure space on one side thereof and a low air pressure space on the opposite side thereof, an oil cooling radiator having a perforate core to permit the. passage of air therethrough mounted in an opening in said partition between said high air pressure space and said low air pressure space to provide a more efiicient cooling effect for said radiator while at the same time substantially eliminating the drag thereof. I y

6. In combination with an engine having a plurality of cylinders cooled by an air blast, a cowling surrounding said engine, and a baflie between each two achacent cylinders of said engine to form with said engine a partition to divide the interior of said cowllng into a high air pressure portion and a low air pressure portion, an oil cooling radiator having a perforate core to per- 'mit the passage of air therethrough mounted in an opening in said partition between said high portion.

'7. In combination with an engine having a centrally disposed crankcase, an open ended cowl air pressure portion and said low air pressure surrounding said engine and projecting forwardly and rearwardly thereof, a plurality of radially disposed cylinders around said crankcase, and an air pressure baflie between each two adjacent cylinders to form with said engine'a partition in said cowl to restrict the flow ofair from the V forward end to the rearward end of said cowl to provide within said cowl a high pressure chamber and a low pressure chamber. and an oil cooling radiator having a perforate core to permit the passage of air therethrough mounted in an opening in one of said bailles, and disposed between said chambers.

8. In combination with an engine having a plurality of cylinders cooled by an air blast, a cowling surrounding said engine, and a baffle between each two adjacent cylinders of said engine to form with said engine a partition to divide the interior of aid mung into a high air pressure portion and a low air pressureportion, an oil cooling radiator having a perforate core to permit the passage of air therethrough mounted in an opening in said partition, an oil inlet and oil outlet for said radiator, and a pressure relief valve between said inlet and said outlet to bypass said radiator when the oil is viscous.

9, An oil cooling radiator for an engine coinprising, a cartridge type core, a two part shell surrounding said core, resilient material between said core and said shell, an adjustable connection between the two parts of said shell for compressing said resilient material, and brackets for securing said shell to said engine.v

10. An oil radiator for an engine comprising,

an elongated cartridge type core, a shell surrounding said core and secured to said engine,

a pair of doors extending lengthwise of said core hinged to said shell at opposite sides thereof, a rod secured to each door and projecting beyond one end thereof, a toggle linkage connected to the projecting ends of said rods, and a manually actuatable member connected to said toggle linkage to open andclose said doors.

11. In a high speed vehicle ,having an engine surrounded by a drag reducing cowl and a phirality of air pressure baflles'within said cowl between the cylinders of said engine,- anda radiator- I for cooling the lubricating'oilf of said engine; the

arrangement for further reducing thedragof 4 said vehicle'which'comprisesfmounting said oil cooling radiator in oneof said bailles so that the frontal'areaof said radiator lies whollyjwithin the extent of the frontal area of said engine.

12. Ina high speed vehicle havingan engine surrounded by a'drag reducing' cowl, a plurality of air pressure baflles withinsaidcowl between the cylinders of saidengine, and a series of adjustable fiapsat the trailing edgeof said cowl :for controlling the flow of coolingair past said baffled engine, and a radiator for cooling the lubricatingbil of said engine, .the arrangement for further reducing the drag of said vehicle and radiator directly responsive to the cooling requirements of said engine which comprises, mounting said. oil cooling radiatonin one of said air pressure-baflles sothat the frontal area of said radiator is wholly hin the extent of the cross sectional area of saidcowl and the flow of air through said radiator is vunder the control of said adjustable-cowl flaps.

Rex, n ainrsnn,

rendering the cooling efiect of said oil cooling 

